Ghebreyesus: Actual infection numbers in Africa significantly higher, population simply not being tested

(Patria) – The total number of deaths from the coronavirus worldwide has surpassed 150,000, while the total number of confirmed infections is close to 2,250,000.

In the most affected countries, the daily number of deaths still reaches hundreds, and in one of the countries hardest hit by the pandemic, Great Britain, 847 people died in the last 24 hours alone, and 5,599 new infections were reported.

In France, 761 people died in the past day, while in Italy that number was 575.

The number of victims of the still insufficiently known virus is also rising on the African continent, where the most affected are Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and South Africa.

The director of the World Health Organization reveals that Africa has recorded a 51% increase in new cases of infection and a 60% increase in deaths. Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus believes that the actual numbers are much higher but are not being reported because the population is not being tested.

- With the support of WHO, most countries in Africa have the capacity to test for the coronavirus, but there are still significant obstacles in procuring tests, Ghebreyesus emphasized.

At the same time, as Italy and France record a lower number of hospitalizations, many European countries are considering 'normalization'.

The German government announced that the epidemic in that country is 'under control', and thanked the population for adhering to measures, and medical staff and other workers who worked during the epidemic – for their dedication.

- Now we can say that we have succeeded... the infection rate has significantly decreased, said Health Minister Jens Spahn.

In Germany, more than 141,400 people have been infected, and 4,352 have died.